Writing [Tutorial] When & How to Smut

OokamiKasumi

Author of Quality Smut
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Then let me get the thread a bit more back to topic:

Oh, I'm actually the same. "Proper romance" has a lot to do with "stalling". Either through society, or a third party, or just plain stupid characters. The typical "Just kiss already" reaction while reading it. I tried and failed miserable because all my stories ended too early :blobrofl:
Stalling and Angst. The emotional content tends to be (needs to be...?) off the charts.

On the other hand, I really like "romance" (and following that also "smut") as sub-genres to my stories. There you can stall it a lot easier through the actual main plot and the romance episodes are just a "fun interlude". Which is why I probably agree so much with your "romance smut" part as the actual "smut" is less... uhm... dominant in the writing. So those tips are directly usable for the romance-subgenre "after the kiss".

When I write a sex-scene (or parts of it), it's part of character development (or relationship development). So more than the physical description of every move, the actual emotions (or changing feelings) are the important part you build on afterwards.
Have you ever noticed that (published) romance novels are generally set in other Genres?

-- Historical Romance: Historical Adventures + Romance​
-- Romantic Suspense: Mystery and/or Crime Drama + Romance​
-- Paranormal/Vampire Romance: Mild Horror + Romance​

There's a reason for that.

Romance alone --especially contemporary romance-- can only keep up the sexual tension between lovers for so long before the reader gets bored.

How fast do Readers get bored?
-- In this modern era, almost everyone grew up watching TV. This means that our current reading audience all have a TV and Movie Watcher's attention span. TV episodes last from half an hour to an hour, and movies last close to two hours. With the advent of the Internet however, a reader's attention span has shortened to Half an Hour to fifteen minutes.​
How much can you read in half an hour?​
-- That's how long a writer has to catch and hold a reader's attention, with only two hours total to get them to the end of the story, or at least the end of the chapter.​

If the writer plans to write something longer than a Harlequin short novel, or a common light novel, (40k in length,) they need to have something else going on in that story just to keep the reader's attention.

That you are smart enough to put your romance into a whole other type of story just shows that you have good instincts as a writer.
 

KoyukiMegumi

Kitty
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Don't be so mean. Not everyone is like you and writes 10k words chapters :blob_teary:
Plebeians! All those who don't write 10k chapters are peasants!

Kidding~ Mister/Madam Owl~ 💕

How fast do Readers get bored?
-- In this modern era, almost everyone grew up watching TV. This means that our current reading audience all have a TV and Movie Watcher's attention span. TV episodes last from half an hour to an hour, and movies last close to two hours. With the advent of the Internet however, a reader's attention span has shortened to Half an Hour to fifteen minutes.​
How much can you read in half an hour?​
-- That's how long a writer has to catch and hold a reader's attention, with only two hours total to get them to the end of the story, or at least the end of the chapter.​

If the writer plans to write something longer than a Harlequin short novel, or a common light novel, (40k in length,) they need to have something else going on in that story just to keep the reader's attention.

That you are smart enough to put your romance into a whole other type of story just shows that you have good instincts as a writer.
Effectively, people can stay concentrated on 1 thing for like 2 hours at most. *Though I grew up on reading on books* I get into something I tend to binge it. Book or series.

Romance alone bores me like no tomorrow, but add fantasy and I get into it easily. But a story without a romance doesn't intrigue me as much too. To me, the perfect story has to have a little of everything.:blob_aww:💕
 

BenJepheneT

Light Up Gold - Parquet Courts
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I am SOOOOO surprised right now. How come you didn't know about this whole thing? Or is it my expectations of you that are so biased and wrong? :blob_pat_sad:
People tend to see my posts and assume the worst of me. Don't worry; I'm used to it.

Have you ever noticed that (published) romance novels are generally set in other Genres?

-- Historical Romance: Historical Adventures + Romance-- Romantic Suspense: Mystery and/or Crime Drama + Romance-- Paranormal/Vampire Romance: Mild Horror + Romance
There's a reason for that.

Romance alone --especially contemporary romance-- can only keep up the sexual tension between lovers for so long before the reader gets bored.

How fast do Readers get bored?-- In this modern era, almost everyone grew up watching TV. This means that our current reading audience all have a TV and Movie Watcher's attention span. TV episodes last from half an hour to an hour, and movies last close to two hours. With the advent of the Internet however, a reader's attention span has shortened to Half an Hour to fifteen minutes.How much can you read in half an hour?-- That's how long a writer has to catch and hold a reader's attention, with only two hours total to get them to the end of the story, or at least the end of the chapter.
If the writer plans to write something longer than a Harlequin short novel, or a common light novel, (40k in length,) they need to have something else going on in that story just to keep the reader's attention.

That you are smart enough to put your romance into a whole other type of story
I have a new proposal: post-irony romance.

In short words, the idea post-irony romance is romance where the development amounts to nothing but small talk and brief conversations before immediately marrying each other and staying faithful. Like talking about the weather thrice before having a marriage in Tijuana. Imagine the two partners understanding that the relationship is a joke and that they're so invested in the joke that said joke becomes the real thing.

Think of a guy and a chick having a Tarantino-esuqe discussion about chicken strips in a car wash and immediately proposing after they get out of the car wash. THAT, kind of post-irony romance.

What my point was is that post-irony romance can be used to cope with the ever shortened attention span of online readers AND offer a more unexplored side of Webnovel writing. At this point, almost all of webnovels are defined by its clichés and troupes. So why not take that established mutual understanding and use it to its advantage? Have a Tsundere be absolutely rude to the MC for chapter 1 and chapter 2 opens up with the Tsundere recieving a full Nelson anal from the MC, then build up the relationship from there.

Show the head, confuse the audiences with the tail, then hook them up by explaining how the body went, and in the meantime, establish/reinforce the tone/themes of your romance as you construct said body.

Don't listen to what I said I wrote this while under the influence of midnight fatigue and a too-long afternoon nap.
 

OokamiKasumi

Author of Quality Smut
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Hmm... I am seriously contemplating posting my plug & play how to write a smut scene tutorial, just to see what sort of crazy examples you guys will come up with when you try it out.


I have a new proposal: post-irony romance.

In short words, the idea post-irony romance is romance where the development amounts to nothing but small talk and brief conversations before immediately marrying each other and staying faithful. Like talking about the weather thrice before having a marriage in Tijuana. Imagine the two partners understanding that the relationship is a joke and that they're so invested in the joke that said joke becomes the real thing.
This actually happens in real life, but large amounts in alcohol are usually involved.

Think of a guy and a chick having a Tarantino-esuqe discussion about chicken strips in a car wash and immediately proposing after they get out of the car wash. THAT, kind of post-irony romance.
Wait... Isn't that called: Speed Dating...?

What my point was is that post-irony romance can be used to cope with the ever shortened attention span of online readers AND offer a more unexplored side of Webnovel writing. At this point, almost all of webnovels are defined by its clichés and troupes. So why not take that established mutual understanding and use it to its advantage? Have a Tsundere be absolutely rude to the MC for chapter 1 and chapter 2 opens up with the Tsundere recieving a full Nelson anal from the MC, then build up the relationship from there.

Show the head, confuse the audiences with the tail, then hook them up by explaining how the body went, and in the meantime, establish/reinforce the tone/themes of your romance as you construct said body.
Sooner or later someone is actually going to start writing those, then a website will find a way to monetize it-- Oh wait, this sounds like one of the Chinese short novels I've been reading -- with 1000 word chapters where I have to wait days for the next chapter, if I don't want to pay for it.

Don't listen to what I said I wrote this while under the influence of midnight fatigue and a too-long afternoon nap.
LOL!
 
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LostLibrarian

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Stalling and Angst. The emotional content tends to be (needs to be...?) off the charts.
I would say "needs to be" and justify it with it:
Have you ever noticed that (published) romance novels are generally set in other Genres?

If we look at "story theory", then it goes down to the scene level where "the value at stake" needs to change. Any chapter needs to go from "bad to good", "good to better", "good to bad", or "bad to worse". Each genre will only give you one "main value" to work with. For romance that would be the "hate, indifference, ignorance, attraction, love" of the relationship between the couple.

So if you only have a clear romance, it'll always be the usual "does he like", "am I too pushy?", typical monologue stuff. "Our date was so great yesterday, but today he talked to another girl in class and I'm sad!". So even if your story only has 30 chapters (let's not even talk about 50+ chapters), that's 30 times the feelings have to change.

Both with (a) no repeating of the previous problem and (b) ever escalating stages. When you have to do the "Yesterday we liked each other, but today I need to be sad" 10 times, it'll end with the over-the-top "I dreamed of him cheating, so I throw myself of the cliff".

With multiple genres, you have two values. (life-to-death, ignorance-to-knowledge, etc) to work with. So you only need to have 1/2 or 1/3 of the scenes turn on your romance value. So now with the good old:
- See each other, don't care
- Have to work with each other, get attracted
- Fall in love (or one side falls in love)
- They want to be happy, but other value won't let them
- They are sad
- They learn X so they are even more sad
- They learn Y so now there is hope
- They reunite and decide to fight for their feelings
- They win and can stay together
You already have most of the scenes covered without the need to have the girl act like an idiot over the boy talking to his sister.

Writing in multiple genres, makes it a lot easier to change values (and through that keep the attention) without needing to escalate too much too early.

In this modern era, almost everyone grew up watching TV. This means that our current reading audience all have a TV and Movie Watcher's attention span.
This is true, especially for the early hook of your story. People are more inclined to stop reading (or not buy) if your start doesn't hook them right away. But I would also say two more things, that also add up to it:
(1) Your usual stupid romance series already turned all genre tropes into clichés and often even make fun of them. Especially long-running sitcoms will make fun of those developments themselves. So through series and movies, the "modern reader" also has seen a hundred more examples of that same trope. Which makes it a lot harder to innovate said trope in your book.
(2) Especially modern romance movies are divided into two parts. Your typical cliché-movie that allows the reader to spot problems in your novel easier. And the better ones (often also multi-genre ones), who also set a higher bar. Many romance movies have a sub-theme of worldview/maturation, or society, or knowledge. "Will the dad realize, that the success at work isn't worth his marriage?", "Will the dad mature and start taking more responsibility during everyday life?", "Will the dad (always the dad :blob_teary: ) make it through the snow storm to see the violin concert of his daughter after he realized that his family is more important than the new secretary?".




I think that's a big reason, books had to follow. We have to keep the action (therefore value changes) up to keep the readers attention. We have to innovate the tropes of the genre, so the readers don't feel "it's just like episode XX of Y". And we also have to battle against a mass of movies who can all be found with one press of a button. 20 years ago, that was a lot of money and time, to go and borrow a movie for a weekend. Nowadays, it's one click from your couch.

So in short, I agree. Romance is - in longer fiction - simply outdated due to the competition. Though I would say, that is true for a lot of genres to some degree. We also see the evolution of action or adventure stories with added secondary genres. Nowadays, it's often not "shoot the bad people" but "shoot the bad while trying to find your place in the world", or whatever...
Hmm... I am seriously contemplating posting my plug & play how to write a smut scene tutorial, just to see what sort of crazy examples you guys will come up with when you try it out.
"Plug & Play" sounds weird together with "smut"...
 
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OokamiKasumi

Author of Quality Smut
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Mar 20, 2021
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If we look at "story theory", then it goes down to the scene level where "the value at stake" needs to change. ... Each genre will only give you one "main value" to work with. For romance that would be the "hate, indifference, ignorance, attraction, love" of the relationship between the couple.
Yes.

So if you only have a clear romance, it'll always be the usual "does he like", "am I too pushy?", typical monologue stuff. "Our date was so great yesterday, but today he talked to another girl in class and I'm sad!".

So even if your story only has 30 chapters (let's not even talk about 50+ chapters), that's 30 times the feelings have to change.

Both with (a) no repeating of the previous problem and (b) ever escalating stages. When you have to do the "Yesterday we liked each other, but today I need to be sad" 10 times, it'll end with the over-the-top "I dreamed of him cheating, so I throw myself of the cliff".
ROFLMAO! What makes this so damned funny is that this is not only True, this is commonly seen in daytime soap operas!

With multiple genres, you have two values. (life-to-death, ignorance-to-knowledge, etc) to work with. So you only need to have 1/2 or 1/3 of the scenes turn on your romance value. So now with the good old:
- See each other, don't care
- Have to work with each other, get attracted
- Fall in love (or one side falls in love)
- They want to be happy, but other value won't let them
- They are sad
- They learn X so they are even more sad
- They learn Y so now there is hope
- They reunite and decide to fight for their feelings
- They win and can stay together

You already have most of the scenes covered with the need to have the girl act like an idiot over the boy talking to his sister.
Ah! You're a PLOTTER...! 💖
-- Only plotters bullet-list scenes like this. (It just makes it so much easier to see it when you've missed something.)

Writing in multiple genres, makes it a lot easier to change values (and through that keep the attention) without needing to escalate too much too early.
Yes, yes it does.

This is true, especially for the early hook of your story. People are more inclined to stop reading (or not buy) if your start doesn't hook them right away.
According to my personal polls, and Romance Writers of America, Readers choose their books by:
(In this specific order.)

-- 1) Looking at the cover -- though everyone knows the covers are misleading.
-- 2) Reading the excerpt/cover blurb.
-- 3) Reading the first page.
However, for many of the readers in my poll, (myself included,) if the first page doesn't make them go to the second page, they'll put the book back to find a story that does make them turn to the next page.​
-- 4) Mystery and Horror readers however also read the Last Page to see if the main character lives.
If that main characters doesn't, over 70% of the readers in my poll won't read that book.​

I would also say two more things, that also add up to it:

(1) Your usual stupid romance series already turned all genre tropes into clichés and often even make fun of them. Especially long-running sitcoms will make fun of those developments themselves.
So through series and movies, the "modern reader" also has seen a hundred more examples of that same trope. Which makes it a lot harder to innovate said trope in your book.
OMG... Yes, yes it has.

(2) ...modern romance movies are divided into two parts. Your typical cliché-movie that allows the reader to spot problems in your novel easier. And the better ones (often also multi-genre ones), who also set a higher bar.
Not only that, but those who watch Romantic movies are generally On Dates. This means that the movie has to entertain both the one who wanted to see that romantic movie, and the one who got dragged into seeing the movie to please their date.

Many romance movies have a sub-theme of worldview/maturation, or society, or knowledge. "Will the dad realize, that the success at work isn't worth his marriage?", "Will the dad mature and start taking more responsibility during everyday life?", "Will the dad (always the dad :blob_teary: ) make it through the snow storm to see the violin concert of his daughter after he realized that his family is more important than the new secretary?".
You're right, it IS always the Dad. What is that...? Do they have daddy issues or something?

I think that's a big reason, books had to follow. We have to keep the action (therefore value changes) up to keep the readers attention. We have to innovate the tropes of the genre, so the readers don't feel "it's just like episode XX of Y". And we also have to battle against a mass of movies who can all be found with one press of a button.

20 years ago, that was a lot of money and time, to go and borrow a movie for a weekend. Nowadays, it's one click from your couch.
I shudder for the writers 20 years from now. Their reading audience is going to be terrifying to please.

So in short, I agree. Romance is - in longer fiction - simply outdated due to the competition. Though I would say, that is true for a lot of genres to some degree. We also see the evolution of action or adventure stories with added secondary genres. Nowadays, it's often not "shoot the bad people" but "shoot the bad while trying to find your place in the world", or whatever...
It was a fast evolution for those action/adventure movies too. Superhero movies are still coming out in twos and threes now.

"Plug & Play" sounds weird together with "smut"...
But it fits so well...!
-- It's also true. I broke down how to write an action scene/sex scene to very nearly fill in the blank.
 

BenJepheneT

Light Up Gold - Parquet Courts
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This actually happens in real life, but large amounts in alcohol are usually involved.
Wait... Isn't that called: Speed Dating...?
Yeah, it's in lieu of that, but instead, the relationship actually lasts, with no justification whatsoever. The whole story, instead of showing how they got together, is basically a slice-of-life showing what they do together, with some sprinkle of ironic humor in it.

Sooner or later someone is actually going to start writing those, then a website will find a way to monetize it-- Oh wait, this sounds like one of the Chinese short novels I've been reading -- with 1000 word chapters where I have to wait days for the next chapter, if I don't want to pay for it.
I'm actually thinking of writing it myself. Hell, I've already plotted out the frame of the story. I just need to write it out... at some point in my life.
 

LostLibrarian

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-- Only plotters bullet-list scenes like this. (It just makes it so much easier to see it when you've missed something.)
Guilty. I'm a plotter. At least as much as I can with a 300+ chapter story. I plot out the main points of my main story and build arcs, where I once more plot out the main scenes. The in-between is still discovery writing, but at heart I'm a plotter.

-- 4) Mystery and Horror readers however also read the Last Page to see if the main character lives.
If that main characters doesn't, over 70% of the readers in my poll won't read that book.
I knew the first 3. But this one is new to me. Really interesting.
I did that myself with some webnovels who took a bad turn, but that was more on whether to drop it in the middle or not. Didn't know that so many people would actually spoil themselves with horror. (Though I guess it makes sense if you look for the happy ending).

You're right, it IS always the Dad. What is that...? Do they have daddy issues or something?
Because the core romantic movies have been and still are aimed at the female audience. So it is the woman who needs to get treated well by the man. The millionaire, who falls in love with the beautiful peasant. The dad, who sees that the mother is the most important thing of all. The man who gives up his dreams so that the woman can achieve her dreams.

It is as unrealistic (and sometimes even outright toxic) as the other way around with "the group of beautiful hot babes chasing after one normal guy" in our harem stories. There are, of course, also a lot more nuanced stories, but the "typical cliché romance story" is the female equivalent of the male power fantasy. Though it isn't dominance through strength or money, but through feelings and looks.

I shudder for the writers 20 years from now. Their reading audience is going to be terrifying to please.
But on the other side, we also see the birth of new (sub-)genres. We had isekai and even game stories before, but isekai and litrpg as genres are something new and still developing. So I think it can also be a huge blast to see, what new genres will come out.

Looking at future problems, I would guess, that we'll see more takes on apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction. And with a lot of people fed up with politics, I can see takes that go more towards "the happy life" or the "happy anarchic way".

It was a fast evolution for those action/adventure movies too. Superhero movies are still coming out in twos and threes now.
Yeah, those genres are still in the evolution. But especially with superhero movies you can see a clear change from just "He is the good guy punching the bad guy" to stories with more depth or questions about right and wrong. Just look at Logan who looks at the death of a superhero (or even a genre)...
 

Nautiphilic

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is this a shit post?

has this OP spent more than 2 minutes on the main site to understand how scribbly works? no? allow me to enlighten you:



You see this? PANDERING IS HOW THIS SITE WORKS! YES you can judge books by their cover here and THAT IS WHAT READERS HERE WANT. the bloody hell is this telling ppl not to pander? readers here DO NOT GIVE A SHIT if you add sex scenes to a story. PERIOD. majority here WANT THAT. you tell the top smut webnovelists to not pander you might as well say do not write at all HA what is that shit!

NO this is not a trad pub site. less competition for you? you arent even a part of the fucking competition here. you have not written a bloody WORD on scribbly. the top web authors here are doing all this shit YOU CRY ABOUT NOT DOING. AND GUESS WHAT?

THEY MAKE THOUSANDS IN USD A MONTH!

if author success was determined by lack luster sex scenes EVERYONE would try to emulate Ian Fleming! just because YOU do not like it does not mean THE AUDIENCE does not like it. trash opinions have no place in a "tutorial". WTH?

of course two dating characters could celebrate a significant victory with sex. look at americans and their hollywood. SEX SELLS PERIOD. the consumers DO NOT care about your trash opinion.
harem = rape? HA! have you read a harem novel? most ARE NOT SMUT IN THE FIRST PLACE! Do you consider reverse harem = reverse rape? just like women = females? SMH. You should never refer to people like that. Why?

Because it's demeaning. No one who respects women would unironically call them "females".
Girls ain't some kinda alien species. When you're all like "females do THIS but males do THIS" it comes off as gender essentialist. It's 2021, loosen up!

this OP is not shit advice. it has the fucking OPPOSITE of what SUCCESSFUL WEB AUTHORS HERE DO! if you are going to spout SNOTTY non-sense concerning a consumer base you DID NOT TAKE THE TIME to understand, spend a bloody minute or 2 FFS!
Bloody hell, you may as well write a "tutorial" for TRAD PUB writers on the different sub-genres of NTR. hold that thought. I tell you what -- THAT "tutorial" will be worth something here :blob_popcorn:
 

OokamiKasumi

Author of Quality Smut
Joined
Mar 20, 2021
Messages
234
Points
103
is this a shit post?

has this OP spent more than 2 minutes on the main site to understand how scribbly works? no? allow me to enlighten you:



You see this? PANDERING IS HOW THIS SITE WORKS! YES you can judge books by their cover here and THAT IS WHAT READERS HERE WANT. the bloody hell is this telling ppl not to pander? readers here DO NOT GIVE A SHIT if you add sex scenes to a story. PERIOD. majority here WANT THAT. you tell the top smut webnovelists to not pander you might as well say do not write at all HA what is that shit!

NO this is not a trad pub site. less competition for you? you arent even a part of the fucking competition here. you have not written a bloody WORD on scribbly. the top web authors here are doing all this shit YOU CRY ABOUT NOT DOING. AND GUESS WHAT?

THEY MAKE THOUSANDS IN USD A MONTH!

if author success was determined by lack luster sex scenes EVERYONE would try to emulate Ian Fleming! just because YOU do not like it does not mean THE AUDIENCE does not like it. trash opinions have no place in a "tutorial". WTH?

of course two dating characters could celebrate a significant victory with sex. look at americans and their hollywood. SEX SELLS PERIOD. the consumers DO NOT care about your trash opinion.
harem = rape? HA! have you read a harem novel? most ARE NOT SMUT IN THE FIRST PLACE! Do you consider reverse harem = reverse rape? just like women = females? SMH. You should never refer to people like that. Why?

Because it's demeaning. No one who respects women would unironically call them "females".
Girls ain't some kinda alien species. When you're all like "females do THIS but males do THIS" it comes off as gender essentialist. It's 2021, loosen up!

this OP is not shit advice. it has the fucking OPPOSITE of what SUCCESSFUL WEB AUTHORS HERE DO! if you are going to spout SNOTTY non-sense concerning a consumer base you DID NOT TAKE THE TIME to understand, spend a bloody minute or 2 FFS!
Bloody hell, you may as well write a "tutorial" for TRAD PUB writers on the different sub-genres of NTR. hold that thought. I tell you what -- THAT "tutorial" will be worth something here :blob_popcorn:
Well now, someone is in a temper.
 

ConcubusBunny

Chaotic lewd enby bunny. They/them
Joined
Feb 10, 2020
Messages
261
Points
83
is this a shit post?

has this OP spent more than 2 minutes on the main site to understand how scribbly works? no? allow me to enlighten you:



You see this? PANDERING IS HOW THIS SITE WORKS! YES you can judge books by their cover here and THAT IS WHAT READERS HERE WANT. the bloody hell is this telling ppl not to pander? readers here DO NOT GIVE A SHIT if you add sex scenes to a story. PERIOD. majority here WANT THAT. you tell the top smut webnovelists to not pander you might as well say do not write at all HA what is that shit!

NO this is not a trad pub site. less competition for you? you arent even a part of the fucking competition here. you have not written a bloody WORD on scribbly. the top web authors here are doing all this shit YOU CRY ABOUT NOT DOING. AND GUESS WHAT?

THEY MAKE THOUSANDS IN USD A MONTH!

if author success was determined by lack luster sex scenes EVERYONE would try to emulate Ian Fleming! just because YOU do not like it does not mean THE AUDIENCE does not like it. trash opinions have no place in a "tutorial". WTH?

of course two dating characters could celebrate a significant victory with sex. look at americans and their hollywood. SEX SELLS PERIOD. the consumers DO NOT care about your trash opinion.
harem = rape? HA! have you read a harem novel? most ARE NOT SMUT IN THE FIRST PLACE! Do you consider reverse harem = reverse rape? just like women = females? SMH. You should never refer to people like that. Why?

Because it's demeaning. No one who respects women would unironically call them "females".
Girls ain't some kinda alien species. When you're all like "females do THIS but males do THIS" it comes off as gender essentialist. It's 2021, loosen up!

this OP is not shit advice. it has the fucking OPPOSITE of what SUCCESSFUL WEB AUTHORS HERE DO! if you are going to spout SNOTTY non-sense concerning a consumer base you DID NOT TAKE THE TIME to understand, spend a bloody minute or 2 FFS!
Bloody hell, you may as well write a "tutorial" for TRAD PUB writers on the different sub-genres of NTR. hold that thought. I tell you what -- THAT "tutorial" will be worth something here :blob_popcorn:
This comes off majorly narcissistic, pandering is never good no matter what kinda book you're writing it'll damage your creative freedom leaving you with plot holes and undesirable story outcomes. The sex scenes may be what draw people in but won't keep them there only very few lucky authors can manage to make an erotic smut book interesting enough to keep people there, but if you got a story that keeps being interrupted by the sex then you've got yourself a problem no one likes being thrown filler episodes that don't drive the story forward in the slightest when you can move that scene to a more reasonable place in the story. And the whole not in the same park as the competition she is doing is false, every smut is in the same park you just put on your rose-colored glasses so you don't have to address that, you put glass walls where ones don't even need to be all for you to make excuses for shitty smut stories. But I agree with the gendered part you can't really define someone's taste in media by their gender, lots of people can have a variety of interest
 
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dlamp

Active member
Joined
Jul 19, 2020
Messages
10
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43
Reading this has been quite the eye-opener for me, especially that first little quote about a smut story being viable without the smut not being a good (or at least not fully committed) smut story. Especially the notes on audiences and preferences. Got me rethinking about a smut fic I've had on the side for a while now and I'm glad I didn't post it yet since... because I need to make it smuttier :s_tongue:

In all seriousness, this really helps to show why some smut fics (some of the longer ones especially) never really resonated with me... well much as a smut fic is suppose to anyway. As well as a reminder to have one's smut story focus on... well, the smut. Good advice all around, thanks for writing this!
 

OokamiKasumi

Author of Quality Smut
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Reading this has been quite the eye-opener for me, especially that first little quote about a smut story being viable without the smut not being a good (or at least not fully committed) smut story.
I've read lots of good stories that had smut in them, but definitely weren't Smut.
-- A handful of sex scenes, or love scenes, in a story is what you would call: Adult, but not nearly enough to call that story Smut, (Erotica, or Erotic Romance.)

The problem is when stories are labeled as Smut, but aren't 'committed' to the smut, as you said, the way they need to be to actually be that genre.

I call that False Advertising.

Especially the notes on audiences and preferences. Got me rethinking about a smut fic I've had on the side for a while now and I'm glad I didn't post it yet since... because I need to make it smuttier :s_tongue:
YES...!

In all seriousness, this really helps to show why some smut fics (some of the longer ones especially) never really resonated with me... well much as a smut fic is suppose to anyway. As well as a reminder to have one's smut story focus on... well, the smut.
People forget that readers are not ignorant, especially about the genres they read often -- such as smut. Readers know when something Doesn't Live Up to its Packaging -- just as you did.

Good advice all around, thanks for writing this!
I'm glad you enjoyed the essay! ☕

~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
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Dajoe1234

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I've read lots of good stories that had smut in them, but definitely weren't Smut.
-- A handful of sex scenes, or love scenes, in a story is what you would call: Adult, but not nearly enough to call that story Smut, (Erotica, or Erotic Romance.)

The problem is when stories are labeled as Smut, but aren't 'committed' to the smut, as you said, the way they need to be to actually be that genre.

I call that False Advertising.


YES...!


People forget that readers are not ignorant, especially about the genres they read often -- such as smut. Readers know when something Doesn't Live Up to its Packaging -- just as you did.


I'm glad you enjoyed the essay! ☕

~~~~~~~~~~~~
But what about if you want to write Slice of Life with Smut? How much should be the smut scenes compared to the emotional/action/life scenes. 20%, 30%? I want to write about the false biography of a fictional Singer on his way to success and the setbacks that he faces, as well as his relationships.
I feel that if I don't write enough smut, I won't attract a sizeable audience on here but I feel that if I write too much smut that won't give me time to develop enough characterization, characterization being difficult to develop through sex scenes. My story is a mix of slice of life/erotica/action at the moment but I'd like to add more action and romance, and maybe less sex scenes, because I feel that my characters aren't enough developed. I want to make it more slice of lify/actiony than smut.

However, I don't know if I'd aleniate my reader base by doing this, I'm putting polls out there and they don't answer. This is the webnovel that I've had the most success ( I tried my hand at fantasy and while it's original, I don't get a reader base). I'm still really passionate about this writing project despite it not being fantasy. However, I ponder about the purpose of writing sex scenes over other scenes if it's just going to be 'Filler'.

Sorry for necroing this thread but it looked great. I don't want to be a pure smut writer.
 

Agentt

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But what about if you want to write Slice of Life with Smut? How much should be the smut scenes compared to the emotional/action/life scenes. 20%, 30%? I want to write about the false biography of a fictional Singer on his way to success and the setbacks that he faces, as well as his relationships.
I feel that if I don't write enough smut, I won't attract a sizeable audience on here but I feel that if I write too much smut that won't give me time to develop enough characterization, characterization being difficult to develop through sex scenes. My story is a mix of slice of life/erotica/action at the moment but I'd like to add more action and romance, and maybe less sex scenes, because I feel that my characters aren't enough developed. I want to make it more slice of lify/actiony than smut.

However, I don't know if I'd aleniate my reader base by doing this, I'm putting polls out there and they don't answer. This is the webnovel that I've had the most success ( I tried my hand at fantasy and while it's original, I don't get a reader base). I'm still really passionate about this writing project despite it not being fantasy. However, I ponder about the purpose of writing sex scenes over other scenes if it's just going to be 'Filler'.

Sorry for necroing this thread but it looked great. I don't want to be a pure smut writer.
Make it natural, that's all. Sex is a part of life after all, so it's alright. Don't probe too much into details, but let the MC pick up some chicks time to time, kinda like how Bruce wayne is shown
 

Dajoe1234

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Make it natural, that's all. Sex is a part of life after all, so it's alright. Don't probe too much into details, but let the MC pick up some chicks time to time, kinda like how Bruce wayne is shown
He's in a relationship with two girls and will stay faithful as that's how he develop. But there will be some internal/external threats to its relationship that will put it in jeopardy. That's what I'd want to develop more instead of the sex scenes.
 

Agentt

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He's in a relationship with two girls and will stay faithful as that's how he develop. But there will be some internal/external threats to its relationship that will put it in jeopardy. That's what I'd want to develop more instead of the sex scenes.
Do so then. In this case, the post nut clarity is your friend. Have him go through some thinking every morning after sex.
 

Aeriaa

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When & How to SMUT
By Ookami Kasumi

In answer to this forum post:

Smut writers, when is the best time to smut?

DISCLAIMER: As a multi-published author, I have been taught some fairly rigid rules on what is publishable and what is not. If my rather straight-laced (and occasionally snotty,) advice does not suit your creative style, by all means, IGNORE IT. Less competition for me. :)

View attachment 9647

----- Original Message -----
I'd like to know how some smut writers write their smut, ...how smutty our smut should be, [and] places to put smut where it [won't] obstruct the actual plot. I also just want more smut to read...
-- Looking for Good Smut --

Before one Smuts...​

The first thing one needs to know about writing smut is The Law of Erotic Fiction:​

If you can take the Smut out of the Smut Story
and still have a viable story,​

You did it WRONG.​


This was derived from Issac Azimov's Law of Science Fiction:​


This Law is true for every genre of fiction, but especially true for Smut Fiction.

The point being; in order to write smut that won't obstruct the plot--​

One creates a Plot specifically for the Smut.

WARNING! Incoming Rant!

Do Not add Smut to an already existing story!​

If you already have a viable story, adding smut just to get readers to look at your work is known as Pandering. This happens most often when a writer gets impatient for views, or sales, and resorts to adding smut to their work in hope of catching the attention of somebody, anybody who will look at their work.​
If you have a half-way decent story, Pandering is the worst thing you can do to your work because it is a Dead End trick. Adding smut content to a story that was not originally designed to have smut content destroys character cohesion and creates massive plot holes almost instantly. In short, it destroys whatever integrity that story might have had.​
Pandering is a cheap trick no reader appreciates, especially readers who already know what good smut fiction looks like.​
If you think your readers won't notice you cheating them out of a properly plotted smut story, you are Very Wrong, and your readers will let you know in ugly ways.​
/Rant.​

Now that I've gotten that off my ample chest...

Accidents Do Happen.​

Sometimes writers will write stories that start out as legitimate smut, but the characters get carried away and the plot shifts focus to something that isn't smut -- turning their smut story into something completely different.​

How can you tell if a Smut Story has changed?​

Here's a test:
-- If you can substitute all the smut scenes with Kissing scenes, your plot has probably shifted into something else -- and that something else is what your story should be.​

What to do about this?​

First, figure out what your story's new focus is. Is it a fascinating Mystery, a rollicking Adventure, a tender Romance, intriguing Magic...? Next, take out all your lovely smut, save those scenes in another file to use in a different story, put kissing scenes in those gaping plot holes then finish your story.

What about just...jamming Smut in there anyway?​

NO! Absolutely Not. All that will do is ruin a perfectly viable story. All you can do is finish that story then try again with a new story -- hopefully with the smut properly integrated into the plotline.​

How do you Write a Story for Smut?!​

Before one writes a single word of the story you plan to have smut in, one needs to know that there are major differences between a basic smut story (Erotica), a smut Adventure story, (Adult Pulp Fiction and Erotic Romance,) a story with with love scenes, (common Romance,) and rape fics, (Bodice Rippers.)

Each of those types of stories all have different Plot Structures where the smut serves a difference purpose.


Erotica:
-- Smut IS the Plot.

Erotica stories tend to be short because their plot is literally; They met. They had sex. What happened after.

This sort of story is easily --and quickly-- written because the writer merely needs to come up with a smut scene, then figure out how the characters met to have smut, then what happened after they had smut.

They saw.
They conquered.
They came.
~ The End.


Adult Pulp Fiction/Erotic Romances:
-- Because the MC needed Smut, Plot Happened.


Believe it or not, Pulp Fiction and Erotic Romances are pretty much the same thing -- an Adult Grand Adventure. The only real difference between them are their target reading audiences. Pulp Fiction is generally aimed at male readers, where Erotic Romance, despite the misleading genre title, are aimed at the female reading audience.

In the best stories, the main characters are on a Grand Adventure, and every time the main characters indulge in smut -- something happens.

The writer's job is to find a reason for their main characters to Need that Smut to Happen, then expand on how every time they succeed in getting it on, their actions complicate their grand adventure.

The more poorly written Pulp Fictions however, use a Reward system.
-- The main character does something Dangerous; a rescue, an escape, a heist, a fierce battle, and they are rewarded with smut. (Ian Fleming, I am looking at you!)

This is a cheap-assed, bargain bin version of the cliché 'Boy gets the Girl for doing something Brave' plot. That cliché is older than the earliest fairy tales and twice as used. Think: cave-man.

If you are aiming strictly for the Male reading audience, go for it! They'll appreciate this sort of story enthusiastically.

However, I as an author and a female reader despise it. In fact most female readers dislike that cliché.

Why? Because it's demeaning.

If a guy does something life-threatening for my sake such as a rescue, I might reward them with a hug, or a kiss on the cheek, or dinner, or even money, but never smut. Not unless I was already in a sexual relationship with them.

The only type of person that will reward a guy with smut when they are Not already in a relationship with them, is either:
  1. Someone who is being forced to do so -- in which case that main character better Not accept that reward or they will lose all respect from every female reading that story...!
  2. Or someone looking for a sucker to use. This kind of person will also toss them away the instant they find someone stronger, richer, and more powerful. This kind of person is called a Skank and females Hate Them. We certainly don't want to read about them unless they come to nasty, nasty ends.

Romance:
-- Falling in Love leads to Smut.


Many, many Romances have smut, but most of them don't really need it. This is because what drives the plot in a Romance story isn't Physical Love. The plot's focus is Emotional Love, and emotions are what make the story happen -- and need the most detailing.

However, if you truly want smut in your Romance story, to do it properly each progressive love scene should demonstrate the increasing level of Affection and Trust --the increasing level of love-- between your main characters.


Bodice Rippers:
-- The classic rape fic where the victim falls in love with their rapist, AKA: Stockholm Syndrome.


Before we get into how to write one of these, the writer needs to know two things:

Number One: American female readers tend to HATE rape fics --this includes M/M rape fics-- with a burning passion, unless that story ends with a gruesome revenge scene that the rapist does not survive.
Bodice Ripper novels went out of fashion in the USA in the mid 80's because of a massive cultural shift in the USA where 'wanting sex' and 'enjoying sex' were no longer considered shameful, that it was okay to take pleasure in sex with someone they cared about. Rape to Romance stories were very quickly replaced by detailed and explicit Seduction stories.​

Number Two: Over 80% of the English reading --and book-buying-- audience is Female.
So, if your English rape fic, or English translated rape fic, has a low reader count, now you know why. It's because the largest denomination of English readers --females-- won't read that type of work.

On the other hand...!

If you are targeting male readers this type of story will definitely appeal to them because rape is a very common male stroke fantasy.

Ahem! Please note the term Fantasy. Just because someone fantasizes about something does not mean they have any desire to do such things in real life. For example, Stephen King fantasizes about gruesome murders all the time -- he even writes them down so other people can fantasize about them too! However, he has never harmed anyone in real life.​


The key to writing Bodice Rippers successfully is to have some kind of smut content in every chapter (every 2,500 words minimum,) even if it's just peeping at naked flesh.

However, there should still be a decent excuse for every bit of smut to happen! It doesn't have to be a good excuse, just enough of one to move the story to the next scene.

Detailing smut however, is optional with smut scenes only being a paragraph or three in length. This is because while male readers prefer detailed descriptions of the characters participating in smut -- female and male-- they prefer to use their imaginations to detail the action.


The Bodice Ripper is also the core of the Oriental Harem story.

In order to write a rape fic longer than 10,000 words (two to four chapters,) one needs more targets to fill out that word count. Also, raping and brain-washing the same target gets boring quickly.

To make a basic Harem Fic, start by sketching out as many targets for your main character to seduce as possible. Seriously, make a list with names, cliché character typecasting, and base descriptions. Change targets every 50,000 (50k) words with a new location and a fresh excuse to have smut.

How do you End a Harem Fic?​
-- No idea. From what I've seen so far, the story keeps going until the Main Character dies.

How Descriptive should the Smut Scenes be?

This depends on your target reading audience.

Female readers want descriptive details of everything -- inside and out!​

The people, the places, the action, the sounds, the smells, the tastes, the colors, the textures... Female readers want to see each scene clearly in their minds better than in a movie. They want to experience it all; mentally, physically, emotionally. They want to be those characters and live their lives from inside their skins.

Smut scenes range between 2,500 words to 10,000 words per scene.

However there is a limit to how much one should describe!​
  • Good example of descriptive writing: Laurell K Hamilton's early Anita Blake books. Her later books completely lost the plot.​
  • Bad example: JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series. He was writing a travelogue and it shows. His Hobbit is much better, but still crammed with travel details.​

Male readers prefer the Characters and Action Scenes as lovingly detailed as the Silver Screen.​

They want to see the participants and players in full technicolor in their imaginations; skin tones, hair color, eye color, the exact softness of skin, fragrances fair and foul, descriptions of body types, and exactly how a bosom fits in the character's palm. They like the messy details too; the slap of skin and the squelch of wet flesh, musky damp scents, and the taste of sweaty skin.

Location changes, scenery changes, fight scenes and other daring-do scenes should also be as detailed as a movie scene.

The emotional aspects can be skipped almost entirely -- unless Revenge is involved. Apparently Hate, Rage, Anger, and Frustration are allowable emotions for the main protagonist to wallow in. Love and affection are emotions they succumb to -- after fighting long and hard against them.

Everything else can be somewhat vague, including the smut.

Average Smut scene: 500 to 1000 words.

If you want to detail out the smut to 5000 words or more, your male readers will definitely enjoy it, but a couple paragraphs of a rough outline of what happened works too. This is because males like to add in their own little details and dialogue while they're fapping to smut.​
  • Good Example of descriptive writing male readers appreciate: Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series.​
  • Bad Example: Ian Fleming's James Bond series. Each female lead and all the action is lovingly detailed, but the smut scenes are barely a paragraph in length and described very poorly. I was so disappointed.​

How much Smut...?

This depends on the type of story one is writing.

However...! Before we go into detail about how much Smut each type of story generally has, my definition of Smut needs to be addressed.

To many writers, Smut = Sex. My definition is a lot more broad. As far as I'm concerned, Smut is anything sexual at all; from smoldering eye contact, to a squeeze of the butt cheek, to full on intercourse. I do however, define a Smut Scene as a scene were sex happens. Okay?

Okay. Now...​


How much Smut
should go in each type of Smut Story?


Erotica:
Smut Scenes: One per 5000 (5k) words.​
How Smutty: Extremely detailed.​
Fetishes or kinks: Yes, please! Limited to what is legal to publish. Generally no scat, no bestiality, no watersports.​
Euphemistic language to start with, increasingly hardcore adult language until the peak of climax for best effect. C-word used sparingly and only as a compliment. F-bombs perfectly okay.​

Erotic tension begins with the opening line of the story and every word of description should add to that tension. The moment the two main characters make eye contact Lust smolders into being and every word after that should be erotically charged until the very last line.

Keep in mind, most Erotica is short; 5000 (5k) words to 20,000 (20k) words at most. It is agonizingly difficult to keep up the sexual tension beyond 20k without changing participants. It CAN be done, but it is not easy.
WARNING! Female readers Do Not like reading stories where the main character changes partners. Females consider that Cheating -- unless the story ends in a threesome relationship with all three participants sleeping with each other.​


Adult Pulp Fiction/Erotic Romance:
Smut Scenes: Eight to fifteen per 100,000 (100k) words.​
How Smutty: Hardcore detailed.​
Fetishes or kinks: Limited to what is legal to publish. No scat, no bestiality, no watersports.​
Common language with increasingly hardcore adult language during moments of Danger. Also during rising sexual tension until the peak of climax. C-word used only as a compliment. F-bombs perfectly okay.​

Because these stories are in fact cross-genres of Adventure and Romance, it is much easier to keep the erotic tension going between exclusive partners by balancing it with danger and suspense. Think in terms of a roller-coaster ride with the high peaks being Smut, the deep drops being Danger, and the sharps curves being Suspense.


Romances:
Smut Scenes: Three to five per 100,000 (100k) words.​
How Smutty: Detailed enough to know who is doing what, but through rose-colored glasses.​
Fetishes or kinks: Only what is acceptable by housewives and high school girls. (Mild bondage, no pain!)​
Romantic and euphemistic language with only mildly coarse adult language during moments of danger. Also during rising sexual tension until the peak of climax. F-bombs only while in extreme danger and at the peak of climax. C-word is right out.​

Be sure to detail the internal dialogue and emotional angst of your POV character.

Best written from ONE POV only! (Especially if the writer is a beginner.)​
-- The idea is to keep the readers guessing as to how the Romantic Interest really feels. Using the Romantic Interest's POV even once removes all romantic suspense and gives away the Ending! This is BAD because once the readers know how the story will end, they no longer have a reason to keep reading your story.


Bodice Ripper / Harem story
Smut Scenes: Some kind of smut content from mild to hardcore every chapter.​
How Smutty: Hardcore detailed. Change targets every 50,000 (50k) words with a new location and a new plot twist to give you a fresh excuse to have smut.​
Fetishes or kinks: Limited to what is legal to publish. No scat, no bestiality, no watersports.​
WARNING! Make sure you know your Reading Audience! American female readers Do Not respond well to smut-shaming scenes and may get vicious about them.​

Common language with increasingly hardcore adult language during moments of danger. Also during rising sexual tension until the peak of climax. C-word okay. F-bombs okay.​

Oddly enough, the Bodice Ripper/Harem Tale is a cross-genre of Adventure and Erotica. Keeping the erotic tension is done by changing partners plus moments danger and suspense. In fact, the easiest way is by changing partners during moments of danger and suspense.

Just don't completely abandon the previous partners, especially if they've married the harem master! Doing that will create a plot hole your readers will crucify you for in the comments.

To avoid that sort of problem, give each successive partner their own individual problem the main character needs to assist them with. That partner's story concludes when the problem is fixed and the main character moves on, leaving a happy and thoroughly satisfied ex-partner behind.

The light novel series Vampire Hunter D uses this formula for each individual book.​
Everywhere he goes, D meets a new partner with a vampire problem. Once he fixes their problems and kills the local vampire, he leaves them behind happy and satisfied.​


In Conclusion...​

So, how do smut writers write their smut?
-- With loving descriptions and careful attention to detail.

How smutty should the smut be?
-- Enough to actually get one's target reading audience tight and tingly in their britches!

Where should one put the smut, so it won't obstruct the actual plot?
-- Where it belongs; as an important mover and shaker of the plot all by itself.

I hope this proves helpful...
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Want to read my other Writing tutorials?
So much things to think about now… I’m just a beginner and I wasn’t aware of this. Thanks for you help !
 

OokamiKasumi

Author of Quality Smut
Joined
Mar 20, 2021
Messages
234
Points
103
But what about if you want to write Slice of Life with Smut?
First of all, "Slice of Life" in the professional publishing industry is more commonly called "Contemporary," as in; modern-day fiction. It's not a genre, it's a milieu, a backdrop like Historical, Sci-Fi, or Fantasy. At least, not in the US. Other countries may differ.

What this means, is that your milieu; your backdrop, isn't what's important when considering how much smex you plan to put in your story.

What's important is what you plan to have your smex DO, and/or Represent in your story.

For example...
-- In Romances, love scenes are a common way to Show the emotional (romantic) progression of the story. They're a point-blank representation of how close the romantic leads are getting emotionally.
-- In Horror fiction, smex commonly used to release tension built up after gory scenes, or heightened suspense. Think in terms of the suspension bridge effect, where fear is confused, or outright replaced, with arousal.


How much should be the smut scenes compared to the emotional/action/life scenes. 20%, 30%? I want to write about the false biography of a fictional Singer on his way to success and the setbacks that he faces, as well as his relationships.

If you want to do this realistically, then you might want to research a Real-Life singer, and how much smex is in their actual life.

If you want the smex to actually play a part of the story, you might also want to consider whether that smex causes setbacks, or supports their successes.

For example...
-- In real life smex only causes problems when it becomes Public --as to who someone is sleeping with, and if there's more than one lover-- by way of tabloids and Rumor mongering.
-- On the flip-side, smex can be a powerful source of comfort during adversity when it's with someone they trust.


I feel that if I don't write enough smut, I won't attract a sizeable audience on here but I feel that if I write too much smut that won't give me time to develop enough characterization, characterization being difficult to develop through sex scenes.

Okay, stop right there.

You should only have smex scenes that The Story needs. No More, No Less.

Do Not ADD SMEX to draw in a reading audience.
-- Mainly because the reading audience you will draw will be reading more for the smex than the story.

Just for the record, "I" am that kind of reader, the kind that looks first for smexual content, then checks for a decent story. In fact, this is why I write it -- so I can read a good story with good smex in it.​

If you Do want that sort of reading audience, you need to start the first smex scene by the end of the first chapter, and have at least something smexual in Every chapter that follows. Also, no two scenes can be alike. Each and every one must be different, and hotter than the one before it.

If you just want to write a good story with some hot scenes, then do that; write a Good Story with some hot scenes. No one will complain. Promise.

Just don't call it Erotic or Erotica.

My story is a mix of slice of life/erotica/action at the moment but I'd like to add more action and romance, and maybe less sex scenes, because I feel that my characters aren't enough developed. I want to make it more slice of lify/actiony than smut.

Then add more action and romance, and develop your characters. What's holding you back?

Just don't label your story Erotica, don't even use the word erotic. Call it; hot, racy, titillating, naughty -- Not Erotica. This way you'll draw the right audience to your story; those expecting a mildly racy story, not something from Adam & Eve or The Playboy Channel.


However, I don't know if I'd alienate my reader base by doing this, I'm putting polls out there and they don't answer.

If you used the label Erotica to mark your story, then it may already be too late. You may already have a reader base of those sorts of readers. If you've been writing frequent smex scenes in your story, then you are definitely too late.

Any sudden changes to your story --less smex, more action-- will definitely piss your current readers off, and you really don't want that sort of hate-mail in your comments section.

So, what do you do?

If you are too late, then Finish the current Story as is.

Once that's done, Write a New Story with the character development and the action scenes you want. You don't even need to be all that creative about it. Just change the names, dates, song titles and the cities and rewrite your story.

This is the web-novel that I've had the most success ( I tried my hand at fantasy and while it's original, I don't get a reader base).

Well, of course. Sex Sells.
-- Smex is why Romances are the #1 best selling genre -- beating all other genres by a huge margin. Except for Harlequin Romances, (they have No Smex,) most Romance novels usually have a minimum of 3 smex scenes per book, with some running from 5 to 12. (My books averaged 8 to 10 smex scenes per 100k novel, but I write Erotic Romance: Women's Adult Pulp Fiction.)

I'm still really passionate about this writing project despite it not being fantasy. However, I ponder about the purpose of writing sex scenes over other scenes if it's just going to be 'Filler'.

Then don't make the smex scenes filler.

Give the smex a purpose, a reason to be there:
  • SHOW Something.
  • CAUSE Something.
  • PROVE Something.

Sorry for necro-ing this thread but it looked great.

LOL! I don't mind at all.
-- I write these essays specifically to help writers. This includes answering their questions -- no matter when they post one.


I don't want to be a pure smut writer.
Then don't be one.

However, if you still want a few hot scenes in your story, make the smex necessary for the story to happen -- make the smex turn the plot.

☕
 
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